It never fails. If I am late for work, I will absolutely find myself waiting at EVERY. SINGLE. RED. LIGHT. On really long days after teaching six year olds, I STARE at the clock, watching that red minute hand slowly tick, waiting until the day is done and I can sit in my car with silence. When the night before left me with not enough sleep, my groggy eyes wait for my friend, the Keurig, to make my coffee. After my hair girl does her magic, I wait for it to magically turn blonde. (It of course is natural.) Then at the very end of the day, I wait impatiently for the shower water to turn blazing hot so I can wash the day away.

, you know I recently had surgery to help me live with the pain of endometriosis. We did not have this surgery as a means to "get pregnant." This surgery was an avenue for us to take to avoid medicine (which we are not totally opposed to, but we do like to try the natural routes first), and allow me to be a good mommy to my heartgrown babies (Selah and baby brother to come).

Can I be really honest with you? It's hard to explain. I tried to explain it best in

But in my head, before the surgery, I just knew the doctor would get in there, remove all of the endometriosis, I wouldn't have to go on medicine, and then God would heal me. We would, by a miracle, get pregnant a few months after brother comes home. God is big enough to do that. I know Him to be strong, powerful, and faithful. He can heal me.

Something different happened after the surgery. The doctor got in there, and found the endometriosis to be as bad as it possibly can be. Regardless of his best efforts, he could not get it all out without damaging other organ functions. Last Wednesday, he looked me in my tear-filled eyes and told me, "You will NEVER get pregnant without IVF, and you HAVE to take some type of medicine or you will have a hysterectomy in two years."

We will not being doing IVF, because we aren't trying to get pregnant. I will be taking some type of medicine that is contraceptive because we have tried all the natural routes. That's not the point.

It was the hope. The hope of one day. And who likes to be told, once again, that their body doesn't work the way it was intended to?

My precious husband (gah, I love that man!) was on shift at the same hospital. He met me downstairs, where EVERY pregnant woman in our city walked in and out of the lobby (why in the WORLD, do they put the infertility clinic and OB on the same floor???!!!!). My broken body collapsed in the familiarity of his strong arms, and he let me cry.

He isn't a man of many words in situations like this, and is so intentional about what he says. But when he does open his mouth, wise goodness seeps out, "Can I buy you a coffee?"

Melt my heart, "Yes!"

So we drank our coffee. And he wasn't embarrassed that I was a hysterical mess in public. He sat with me, held my hand, and made me laugh at something. He told me I was beautiful even with black trails of mascara running down my face. And told me the all the super secrets of the hospital staff. It was like real-life Grey's Anatomy. Really.

I got in the car to drive home and realized something...

I'm waiting again.

I'm waiting on God to heal me. And His healing might not look like what I thought. But I know Him to be strong, powerful, and faithful. And He WILL heal me. He will heal my body one day. And until then, I'll be waiting and loving Him. And the tears I cry in the meantime, will continue to soften my heart to need Him.

There's another kind of waiting, too. The achy kind.

The waiting in-between treatments. Those two weeks are MISERABLE, aren't they????!!!! The whole time you wonder, "Am I a mommy and I just don't know it?" Then there's the waiting for those pink lines...utter TORTURE!!!! It's the achy kind, that hurts real deep, to the very depths of your soul.

Then there's the waiting to be approved by your agency. The waiting for a birth mom to choose you. The achy kind of waiting, when you do get chosen, and your waiting, wondering if she will really place the child in your family, or choose to parent. There is the ache of going into that nursery, and rocking in that chair every.single.night. Praying. Crying. Aching. Hoping soon to be a mommy.

It hurts. And honestly, with all the waiting I've done in my life, the achy kind might just take the cake. It's hard. And lonely. And you feel forgotten.

But all of these types of waiting have made me the wife, the mommy, the daughter, the friend, that I am today. This waiting, has made me hungry for more of Him. It's made me realize my desperate need for Him every, single, achy second. And He has used all of this waiting, to usher me into His presence and know Him more. Know the cadence of His heartbeat, and the rhythm of His breathing. Really know Him.

and asked me to write a week in her devotional for adopting moms. You know my heart beats for the orphan and for women, so when this opportunity arose, it was an answer to a prayer I've been praying for several months now! This devotional is written by 25 adoptive moms on all topics such as: waiting, barrenness, trust, self-care, love, and many more. (I wrote the week on love.) :)

Being a mama is so hard sometimes, and being an adoptive mama often brings extra challenges. It is so easy to feel alone and get discouraged. I promise you will find encouragement in this devotional. Each week you will find truth from God's Word that is applied to daily life as an adoptive mama.

I pray for you, sweet friend.

Yes, you.

I really do. And I'm not just saying that. I spent extra time last night on the

, too. I know that feeling. And it's hard. I want this space here, to be one of community. I want to hear your story! I want to pray for you! I want to know your name and most of all, I want you to not feel alone.

I am constantly keeping a list of things I need to do. People I need to email. Things I need to grab. Projects that have to be done. I make a sticky note every day of the most important things to do. And it seems every day the list never gets finished.

And the enemy knows this about me. I slowly start to believe the lies he whispers, "You're not good enough. Everyone else has it together. You're missing out on something better."

As I was laying here, reminding myself of Who God is in this midst of the craziness and expectations that will start in two short hours, I realized that He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:17)

He sees my pathetic efforts of looking to Him. And that is enough, it's all He wants from me.

Because lately I've found myself checking things off my list, instead of loving the faces in them.

It's easy to rush around to get things done, but forget why I'm doing it.

This. All of this is for Him. And it doesn't matter how many things are finished if it isn't.

Because He is before. He is before my list and all the things I have to do. He is before the precious family I love so much and serve. He is before the

I treasure and son that I can't wait to meet. He is before all of the paperwork and hoops we have to jump through to bring him home. He is before the women I want so badly to love on and reach out to. He is before it all. And it's all for Him.

And right now, at 3:30, as I am very exhausted and overwhelmed, He is holding all of my life together. Everything that I feel is out of control, He is perfectly sovereign over.

And y'all, He sees me. Even in my complete failure in this whole list thing, He enjoys me. Delights in me, even. He thinks I'm great and He really likes me. The real overwhelming thing here, is His grace.

So today, when I wake up in two short hours, I'm choosing to see faces on my list. I'm going to be more overwhelmed with His grace than the things I have to get done. And I'm going to rest knowing that He's holding it all together.

Grace While We Wait

Hey there! I'm so glad you're here. This is one of my absolute favorite spaces. I'm Jessica, wife to my life-crush and mama to two through the miracle of adoption. I'm learning how to walk in my identity as the Father's daughter and finding Him in the hidden, secret places. Go grab a cup of coffee and come join me!